Exploring visual journalism

Exploring Baltimore’s neighborhoods: Ridgely’s Delight

For Bill and Sharon Reuter, buying a house in Ridgely’s Delight 25 years ago was a relatively easy decision. The graphic designers, who were transferred to Baltimore from Connecticut, wanted a home downtown where they could get “more bang for your buck.” In the historic neighborhood where Babe Ruth was born, the Reuters found just what they were looking for. And then came a surprise.

Oct. 8, 1978 — Houses in the 600 block of West Conway street, typical of the renovation project underway in Ridgely’s Delight. Richard Diener, developer and real estate broker, purchased about 50 run-down houses from the city and is selling them for $45-$65,000. Buyers so far have tended to be in their 30s, Mr. Diener says, and include an architect, a school teacher, a dentist and an engineer. 7 units were occupied, three sold and 4 on the verge of completion. (Baltimore Sun file)Oct. 8, 1978 — Houses in the 600 block of West Conway street, typical of the renovation project underway in Ridgely’s Delight. Richard Diener, developer and real estate broker, purchased about 50 run-down houses from the city and is selling them for $45-$65,000. Buyers so far have tended to be in their 30s, Mr. Diener says, and include an architect, a school teacher, a dentist and an engineer. 7 units were occupied, three sold and 4 on the verge of completion. (Baltimore Sun file)

Buildings of all sorts tower of one of Baltimore’s familiar hucksters in this photo of Ridgely’s Delight near Washington Boulevard. (Weyman Swagger/Baltimore Sun file/Nov. 12, 1976)

Neighborhood profile of Ridgely’s Delight, near the stadiums. The neighborhood is home to the Babe Ruth Museum, which frequently has a line of kids outside during the summer. (Andre F. Chung/Baltimore Sun File/6/23/98)

Neighborhood residents placed a sign in protest of the destruction of the house at 615 Washington Blvd., circa 1795; now a prime gas station site. (Baltimore Sun file)

Looking west in the 600 block of S. Paca in Ridgely’s Delight. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)

Nothing much to do but chat away the time at one of the remaining storefronts on the street, July 11, 1976, during the Ridgely’s Delight urban renewal renovations. (Baltimore Sun file)

A supermarket was planned for the desolate area in the 700 block of Washington Boulevard. (Baltimore Sun file/July 11, 1976)

Homesteaders and affluent buyers have been moving into Ridgely’s Delight, just southwest of the downtown business district, for about three years, creating a mixture of refurbished and boarded row houses, but many longtime residents remain poor, elderly and black. A community association and the Dept. of Housing and Community Development are trying to keep them there and rehabilitate their homes. (Baltimore Sun file/Feb. 20, 1979)

Renovators Giny and Keats Pullen walk with son Christopher near their home in the 600 block of Washington Boulevard. (Lloyd Pearson/Baltimore Sun file/June 7, 1982)

Two vacant lots at 604 and 606 West Conway street in the renovation district of Ridgely’s Delight were sold by the city to a developer for $100 each with a signed agreement that he would build 2 new houses on the lots. But, finding them “too expensive” to develop, sold them for $2,000 to an investor who then had them for sale for a total of $30,000. (Baltimore Sun file/April 7, 1980)

“We went to our first community meeting and they talked about this possible baseball stadium at Camden Yards,” Bill recalled. “We went home and said, ‘Where’s Camden Yards? … Sounds awful close.’”

Residents of the neighborhood expressed concern about the noise and traffic implications a ballpark would have on their cozy little neighborhood. “Naturally, those of us in Ridgely’s Delight are not too crazy about having a stadium here,” Charles E. Horne, the neighborhood association president, told The Baltimore Sun in an Aug. 26, 1985 article.

The Reuters, however, took a more optimistic stance and embraced the coming change.

“Oh God, it’s really exciting!” Sharon said in a Sun story on March 25, 1992. “You almost can’t help but get excited about it. It’s a beautiful stadium, and it’s right at the end of the block.”

Camden Yards turned out to be “the best thing for the neighborhood,” Bill said, and ever since the Reuters have been among the most vocal supporters of Ridgely’s Delight, an area steeped in history but very much a part of Baltimore City’s downtown renaissance.

A walking tour through the neighborhood begins at Sidewalk Espresso Bar on Washington Boulevard and continues down the street to Rachael’s Dowry Bed and Breakfast, one of the oldest houses in the neighborhood. Washington Boulevard was once part of the roadway from D.C. to Philadelphia, and the houses on the street and throughout Ridgely’s Delight reflect the history of a neighborhood that boomed during the mid-1800s.

“I had heard rumors that George Washington recovered from a broken leg in [the house that is now the bed and breakfast], and I thought, ‘That can’t be true,’” Bill said. “We were in the library and we found an 1890-something guide to South Baltimore, and it showed a picture of this house, and it said, ‘You would never know by the modern renovations that in this house, dated to 1801, George Washington recovered from a broken leg.’ It may just be a rumor, but it’s a rumor that is well over 100 years old.”

As with many other city neighborhoods, Ridgely’s Delight flourished for decades before falling into urban decay. The area began making a comeback in the 1970s and ‘80s. Ridgely’s Delight was zoned as a residential area, though buildings that already were commercial were allowed to stay commercial. Houses were seized through eminent domain, Martin Luther King Boulevard was created, and development continued.

Today the neighborhood has something for everyone. There are neighborhood bars and restaurants (Quigley’s Half-Irish Pub, Corner Bistro & Wine Bar, Pickles, Sliders, Camden Pub), a dog park, a playground (good for the many families now choosing to stay in Ridgely’s Delight rather than move to the suburbs), proximity to 295 for commuters, and a short walk to University of Maryland-Baltimore for graduate students.

“It’s like an onion with lots of layers,” Bill said. “I would say it is” a tight-knit community.

“It is social, but there are different interactions,” Sharon added. “Near the university there are students. It’s almost like parallel universes. They’re there, and they do turn over, then there are others who own houses and have been here years.”

The neighborhood association hosts a monthly happy hour, and about 25 or so people have a block of tickets together at Orioles games. The ballpark that was supposedly going to ruin Ridgely’s Delight has only served to galvanize residents of this hidden gem of a neighborhood.

“You know, it was just the fear of the unknown,” Sharon said. “But none of [the concerns] happened. It’s really been great.”

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